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At a glance: food insecurity in Asia - why Institutions matter

While overall food security has improved remarkably in Asia in the past decades, food insecurity still prevails in many developing countries in the region. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, over 500 million Asians still suffer from hunger. Sound strategies need to be developed and actions undertaken to fight food insecurity in Asia. This report suggests that institutional differences between countries are the most fundamental determinants of their divergent food security status. The report takes a comparative approach in selected countries in Asia, focusing on the roles and effects of governmental and economic institutions on food security. These countries share similarities, but also differ in terms of their institutional settings, natural resource endowments, population size, and the level of economic development.